There is a rather delicate work health safety challenge in the air as people increasingly return to working in close quarters with colleagues after the COVID-19 pandemic. Fragrances or, more precisely, hundreds of undisclosed chemicals in many scents and perfumed products, are playing havoc with the immune systems of COVID long-haulers.
In eastern Victoria, social worker Jenna* found herself gasping for breath in a meeting with a new heavily perfumed colleague. Jenna said:
“I started coughing uncontrollably. Within seconds, I could barely breathe, and I thought I was headed for hospital.”
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Last night Sharan Burrow delivered the 2023 Laurie Carmichael Lecture in Melbourne. Her lecture was a little rambling and full of essential industrial and environmental changes but with little innovation on how to achieve them. (A transcript will be publicly released shortly) There was, however, an opportunity to ask her…
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